On the eve of the new F1 season Michael Schumacher has said that he is still one of the sport’s top draws and expects to compete for podiums this season in the new Mercedes.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport the seven times world champion said, “I was out (of F1) for three years, I’m now 43 and I don’t know if I can compare myself to when I was 30. But I know I’m still one of the best in the world, that I’m motivated, that I enjoy myself and that most people are happy to have me still in F1.”

Bernie Ecclestone has endorsed that last point, speaking today in an interview on F1.com, the official F1 website, the 81 year old was asked whether he thought Schumacher would have a breakthrough this year, “If the car is fast enough, yes. I do hope that’s the case,” he said. “For him and all the Schumacher fans. He is still a big name and we all profit more from a successful Michael Schumacher than from a beaten one. Ask in the USA – he is still the biggest name there.”

Schumacher has played his part in patiently building Mercedes into a title winning outfit. As part of the Ferrari team with Ross Brawn which set the benchmark in the 2000s, the German knows what it takes to win in F1 and to beat the current benchmark, Red Bull. Schumacher and Brawn know how hard it is to keep a team at the very top and they know the signs that it’s beginning to slip. That will be Mercedes’ moment to strike and the timing looks positive for the Brackley team.

“We’ve set the basis for a future at the highest level,” Schumacher said. “But I doubt we will reach it this year.”

As to whether he sees himself in the cockpit as part of that future, Schumacher said, “Right now I’m focussed on the project, I don’t see the need to start discussions on the future.”

There is little doubt that the main candidate for Schumacher’s seat would be Lewis Hamilton, soon to be a free agent, should the 2008 champion wanted to look around for alternatives to McLaren, who have Jenson Button under contract for three more years.

Mercedes is definitely building nicely for a championship assault, with Ross Brawn and a highly experienced management team around him. A driver of Hamilton’s calibre would be the final piece of the jigsaw. Vettel is committed to Red Bull for a few more years and Alonso is locked in at Ferrari on a five year deal.

Likewise Hamilton wants to win more championships and needs a team that will put him at least on level pegging with Vettel, preferably give him a faster car, better pit-stops and all the other little details. McLaren looks like it has a quick car this year; he may feel he’s better off sticking with what he knows.

Whether – and how aggressively – Mercedes go after Hamilton this year, will show us how highly they rate Nico Rosberg. Ross Brawn and other management figures speak highly of him and he certainly has had a good advantage over Schumacher in qualifying. But last season Schumacher performed better in a number of races and it leads one to wonder whether Rosberg has that little bit extra. Equally, Mercedes and McLaren will be looking at how Hamilton attacks the F1 season. Last year, by his own admission he had his eye off the ball,
“Last year quite a lot of times I went out and enjoyed myself thinking that these things don’t affect you but in actual fact they do, they have a knock-on effect. It takes you two days to recover, you miss two days of training and your mind is somewhere else when you get to the race, ” he said.

That’s not what a top team wants for its £12 million + a year investment. Hamilton says he’s fully focussed on F1 again now. So is Schumacher.

265 comments

I would love to see a Michael championship charge this year. I don't think it will happen but a podium looks certain. I think a Michael win would be a good news story for f1 this year. I think nico can win races in the best car but he won't win in a car not the best as alonso, Lewis, Michael, Kimi, and Michael have shown us over the years they can do.

I agree with this all. A Schumacher win would be a great story this year. Whether you are a fan of the man or not, you have to respect his tallent and success. I felt myself willing Schumi to do well last year and was quite suprised with myself! I cannot recall the race but on one occasion he 'was robbed' of a podium by the hateful DRS (was it Canada?) and I was gutted for him! This from a huge fan of Damon Hill back in the day, which is why I was so suprised with myself for wishing Schumi well last year.

Hamilton has only won in a McLaren. It will be interesting to see how he fares when he's not driving for a top team. I'm wondering, though, why You don't mention Button, the guy scored a win in a Honda, and Vettel, who scored STR's only win so far.

Both Button and Vettel had the weather and unusual setups to thank for their wins when not driving for top teams. I don't mean to take anything away from their achievements, but they clearly weren't fighting on a level playing field otherwise they would have had similar results all season (and they didn't).

Personally I can't understand Hamilton wanting to move away from a top-three team - I don't see Mercedes in the top three yet (but who knows what will happen this year). With the door closed at Red Bull (supposedly) and Alonso happy at Ferrari, there's pretty much nowhere else to go.

I'd be surprised to see Schumacher walk away if Mercedes look like getting their act together after suffering through the poor Mercedes cars. Isn't his best chance of restoring his reputation to at least challenge again before retiring.

Also fascinating to see someone in Hamilton's position seeming to only just understand what it takes to succeed. It seems so obvious from the outside.

I cant see him having an option unless he delivers a top 3 whilst above or just behind Rosberg, He would near certainly have served his purpose well as far as car development goes from Mercedes point of view im quite sure.

End of the season or even possibly before then time to switch in a driver who can deliver with the potential the car now has (obv thanks to him and his gifted development input) But it would seem the cars there or thereabouts to deliver results but him (Shumacher) i dont think so.

Truly one of the greats of the sport. And yes he is a top draw, and that could be seen in the response he got from the Indian Grand Prix.I started watching Formula 1 in the late 90s because of him. Great for the sport!

Older drivers also provide an important link and comparison to the previous generations of drivers in the sport. Let's not forget Schumacher raced against Senna, Prost, Mansell and Piquet. It's great to still have him around.

Indeed, he has even beaten Senna in 92 in his first full season, despite driving an inferior car. The guy is a major talent. Perhaps the reason why he didn't shone in the last two years is that he was 3 years away and still needs to catch up with F1's changes?

I think a Schumi race win would be the biggest 'feel good' story of the year (and I'm not even a fan). I don't think anyone wants to see a legend return to a sport and not win just...... one...... more...... time.......!

I really hope Michael has his breakthrough this year. I don't know if Mercedes are just quite ready for wins yet, but certainly podiums are in the picture, especially with Ferrari on the back foot. As for Hamilton, i think he should be able to fight for the championship. I'm a huge Jenson Button fan and i want HIM to win the championship this year, but Hamilton will be right up there. This season is shaping up to be a good one!

There's no question about it that the Kaiser is still one of the best of the current grid & it can be argued that he's the out right best for one can almost be sure that of the current drivers in the circus absolutely no one would still be hungry enough & capable enough to duke it out at the age of 43.

And if Schumi could slightly improve his qualifying pace this year then top drivers are going to start to get worried for the Kaiser showed us last season that he's still a demon off the line though ironically, in the past, Schumi used to be one of the most cautions drivers at the start especially if he wasn't on pole.

Actually the whole of F1 needs to give Schumi a big thank you because it's due to his stubborness that we make history this year with 6 champs on the grid, a less driver would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.

So no, Kimi isn't the one to thank for the 6 champs stat because the smell of dosh was bound to make him come back running sooner or later.

Yes, I wish my original hero the best of luck this season, hopefully he wipes the smirk of Britney Spears face (& he just might do it with loose rears this year) but whatever happens, it appears this is Schumi's last season & hence the unwillingness to dwell on the future.

As for the super cool Lewis Hamilton, for sure the Mclaren deal is signed for all he wanted all along was an equal car before jotting on the dotted line & it appears his & our dreams have come true.

Meanwhile, Lewis was involved in lots of extra curricula activities last season, for sure, Nicole & her US mates have been a bad influence and yes we were dismayed when those two got back together.

Plus Lewis said he had too many balls in the air last year e.g. Investments, buying of properties and the like, so you see, the happy bubble story was BS from the start.

P.s.

Senna used to chase the fastest seat on the grid while Schumi believes in rolling up your sleeves up and helping a team develop from the ground up i.e. The hard way.

Hmm... I say those two cancel each other out though Senna still comes out ahead in my book because he had flair both on & off track.

"ironically, in the past, Schumi used to be one of the most cautions drivers at the start especially if he wasn’t on pole."

I'm certain James remembers well, as do many commentators and fellow competitors, that Schumacher could never be described as cautious off the grid.

In all the years of his competing, he pushed the limits of the "one move" off the line rule more than anyone else. Vettel did it to Button at Suzuka last year and everybody screamed for a penalty, how quickly everyone had forgotten.

The other point to remember is that usually Schumacher was racing for the Championship, so if on a given day he was caught up with the midfield, he would take his time and score the maximum points he could.

Look back at his career and his wins and failures at winning the Championship.

1994, won, but took Hill out. Last race

1995, won with 2 races remaining

1997, took Villeneuve out. Last race

1998, stalled on grid. Last race

2000, won with a race remaining.

2001, won with 4 races remaining.

2002, won with 6 races remaining.

2003, won with incredibly scrappy performance at Suzuka. Finished 8th.

2004, won with 4 races remaining.

Ultimately Schumacher needed to win before the final round otherwise he was hopeless, making errors of judgement or as in 2003, finishing 8th at Suzuka whilst Barrichello won.

Schumacher deserves a place in the pantheon of F1 greats, but I'm talking top 10, not number 1, his subserviant team-mates sadly removed any of his entitlement to be called the Best. All that "Britney" has proven is that he's faster than an old man who I think peaked back in 2000.

I think you will find that his stall in 98 was the result of Ferrari mechanics not putting dry ice in his radiators after the first aborted start. This caused the car to overheat. It was not Michaels fault.

kevin green a very selective memory you have of ayrton, have you forgotten portugal 88 when senna pushed prost at 200mph towards the pitwall?! hmmm and how about when in frustration he drove into the back of mansell in Australia, yes that was the same season in which he was beaten by schuey despite having a superior car. hmmmm

You mean a man who who 4 titles after 2000...and that number should really have been 5 possibly 6 titles... Ferrari had the best car in 2005 but Michelin were cheating and an engine failure in '06 along with that horrid decision by the stewards in Monaco.

1. Michelin cheating is just ridiculous, as if the FIA would allow tyre companies to run two entire seasons of illegal tyres.

2. If we're playing the "what if" game for 2006 (which I think is fun but kind of pointless) and Schumacher never had his Suzuka failure, he would have gained a net 12 points over Alonso, and he lost the title by 13 points, so that alone wouldn't have made a difference. Also, while we're talking engine failures, Alonso had one himself in Monza which robbed him of a podium. If we're talking questionable grid penalties, Alonso had one in Monza too (which if I remember at the time was generally held to be far more questionable than Schumacher's at Monaco). etc etc etc

To answer my critics... Yes, I am unrepentant Schuey fan!!!! But, Michelin were cheating in 2005 and finally got caught in '06 when they were ordered to stop having tires that turned into slicks ... EVERYONE knew the 2005 Ferrari was the better car on LEGAL tires. AS for Monaco, I saw the Ferrari run wide and without reverse had nowhere to go! As for the tire expanding crap, no way. Why do you think the Michelin runners at th eend of the race had barely 1 tire that wasn't slick?

Michelin cheating?You do realize Michelin built perfectly legal tires and Brawn and Bridgestone threw a fit because the Michelins were better (and they "expanded" on track. Imagine that, a tire expanding when it gets super hot) don't you? Also it didn't happen in 2005. 2005 was the year you couldn't change tires for the whole race and the rock hard Bridgestones were basically just slow.

Ferrari didn't have the best car in 2005. What they did have was a FIA directive that meant that Michelin and Bridgestone had to produce tyres that lasted a race distance.

Michelin had all the top teams running their tyres, whereas Bridgestone had only Ferrari.

Michelin wasn't cheating, they just done a better job.

As regards the "Monaco" decision, I would imagine you must be the only fan who believes that Schumacher was penalised unfairly. I'm a Ferrari supporter and I found his actions disgraceful, unsporting and essentially cheating.

Yeah the cars are near bulletproof safety wise now (best example BMW Kubica crash) and that's why personally i feel there's room for 8 more cars on the grid on top of the 2 that's currently empty i reckon with the sudden commercial surge through the new tv rights packages there will be a lot more interest in taking up slots on the grid from car manufacturers and other commercial tycoons etc.

@Kevin - I have to agree with you there... I was disappointed to see Schumacher been so reckless and stupid to endanger Barrichello's life in that race... but I think Schumacher had hit a low-spot in his desperation to have a successful comeback. Since then he has got his act to together and watching him race wheel to wheel with Hamilton 2011 mid-season reminds us of what he could do when he's in the right frame of mind.

As for former world champions making dangerous moves I'm sure it's always happened but ironically enough its only since Senna's death that driver etiquette has been subject to proper rules and regulations.

I also think racing drivers now are putting to much faith in the knowledge that they can walk away from any accident because of the amazing advances in the driver protection in modern F1 cars. This knowledge/reliance on the fact that they can walk away from a 180mph accident if their risky overtake goes wrong is a dangerous thing - bit like playing with fire... it's only a matter of time before somebody doesn't walk away unscathed.

[mod]I can only think of 1 deliberate take out by Senna and that was in retaliation to a mirror situation that Prost had put on him in the previous system but NEVER could you point at Senna in the same way for deliberate very dangerous needless moves as you could with Schumacher

Remember a couple seasons ago when he tried to push the guy (Barichello) who assisted him into winning most of his world championships into the pit wall at 200mph approx????

Truth is Senna started all those unsporting actions that later were performed by drivers like Schumacher, Alonso and Hamilton, too. From the drivers before Senna, Farina and Brabham had the mantle of unsportsmanship.

[mod] Schumacher prefers to build a team from the ground up as opposed to Senna? That is a load of ...

Schumacher went to Benetton, and then the core elements of the team moved over to Ferrari. He didn't just decide to go there himself, alone, and build it, so don't muddy the waters with that 'fact'. If he didn't have Ross Brawn & co, it would have been a different story. Secondly, it was Ferrari, the biggest team period. Not hard to commit to the biggest team in the world isn't it? I'm not bashing Schumacher here, but I think we should give proper facts without bias. I'm rooting for Schumacher to pick up a win this season, but he wasn't a saint, and he certainly wasn't a benevolent miracle.

Perfectly worded his success far from reflects his single talents/skills ability.

I Always argued Villeneuve for one was a better driver throughout there time aside for 1 he was lucky to land in a very fortunate cirumstance of complete team picture at the time of his success BUT on that the one thing that he does have over at least 95% of all drivers post Senna is this gift of interpertation/understanding what the car is doing in a tech language if you like back to the team/designers, and i fully believe that is his purpose and use as far as Brawn and Mercedes are concerned.

Actually you are bashing MS here. Your confusing the horse and the cart mate. Schumi built those teams. The core management team went along with him. They teamed up with him because they new if they produced the goods that Schumi would deliver without question. And he/they did just that.

This is exactly my point, the Ferrari team did deliver. They had core elements from a team that won 2 titles. I simply don't agree with anyone that says it was all down to Schumacher. He was great at testing and improving a car, as is Alonso, but testing regulations have limited that ability. By the way, he did lose in 05 and 06. If he was such a singular God in F1 then the bottom line is Ferrari would not have let him go. That is the most compelling fact here.

I wonder if Senna had the balls 'to commit to the biggest team in the world', as You write, instead of chasing the fastest car, could he have achieved a title in a Ferrari or would it have ended in tears?

Year or two ago in one of the "F1 Racing" issues I've read an interview with Senna's first karting coach. He said that he persuaded Ayrton to join Ferrari instead of Williams, but he refused to because he wanted to be in a title challenger rather than a fridge Ferrari was back then.

@Kevin Green- He started his career at Toleman (a poor car), but what Webbo is talking about is that he went to a very strong Mclaren, then jumped ship to Williams after seeing Mansell and Prost take the title.

Lol you should start an article [mod] you maybe need to check out some Senna archives on a certain wet race in Monte carlo, infact im sure its also in the Senna film have you seen it???.

If not do and you will know what i am talking about when you see it in that very very lesser team Senna was driving for at the time i could rattle on another dozen or so justifiable Senna races but im sure that one is the one rthat will settle the doubts on Senna in any ones mind lol

@F1Fan4Life.. Mate I do believe in the saying, "Every one's got a point of view", but the fact here is that Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne joined ferrari towards the end of 1996, simply put towards the end of the first year of Schumi's ferrari stint. I guess you can google that much out. It was the "dream team" that followed him from Benetton not the other way around(even James will vouch this point). So I would rather say please do google or ask someone who knows before you punch those keys on your keyboard.

Secondly the so called Biggest team, at that point in time was without a world champion for 16 years when Schumi joined Ferrari.

Third he may not be a saint, but he certainly was the best when it came to being a team player, if I recall James from his biography of Schumi, "he made the team look good by his relentless fights and his wins(just like Vettel does it now for Redbull)". The OTHER big teams started complaining that their drivers were not so hardworking as Schumi was.

These are the "Facts", go anywhere, ask anyone, You will get the same answers.

Touching on that though is it not interesting that Schumacher went to Mercedes on the back of Brawn winning the title and believing with the support of Mercedes coming in he would be in a dominant position again and on that of course Ross Brawn and his surrounding people would be on the team THE main reason for his success at benetton and Ferrari!!

Huh, its like saying that Hekki joined Renault which had won the drivers and constructors title the season before. Does that mean he was thinking he is joining a top team?

Nope.

Schumacher was well aware that he isn't going to be enjoying BAR budget when he joins, plus the team was downsizing. He and Ross Brawn have been in the business for long enough to know that they were not going to repeat the success they had in 2009.

schumacher is a waste of time and resources. What ever little money he brings in by being beaten by Rosberg all the time, the team spends on rebuilding front wings. It would be a much better investment to take a young driver and give him half of what MS is getting. They'd get the same results for much less expence. Rosberg will humiliate him again this year, like he did in 2010 and MS will run with his tail between his legs. unless MAMG is in a bubble between teams again, so schummy can't under perform and then get behind Nico with saved sets of tyres

Far from a Schumacher fan savec but you do have that quite wrong what Schumacher undeniably is is a unique development tool while working with certain people ie Brawn for 1.

He is Probably the best as such since senna to have in the race seat from that point of view but on that if by the seasons end the Mercedes is on the pace as such I doubt he will be in the seat come race days, whether he remains with the team for testing and development purposes after that remains to be seen I feel he should as he is one hell of a development tool to have.

He (Shumacher) could be the difference between bridging the gaps Newey creates in a season or not from another angle!.

Nonsense. Schumacher produced some excellent performances, like in Canada, Belgium and Italy, so he is not a waste of resources. He's an F1 legend, who is still capable of duking it out with the young guns at the age of 43 despite not having all of his original speed.

and maybe he should look to himself to find what needs to be improved instead of arrogantly seeing himself as one of the best and constantly blaming the car for his incapabilities. It's not the cars fault Rosberg starts the race infront of Ferrari and McLaren and schuey only behind much slower and KERS-less teams

It could be argued he was being arrogant when he said "one of the best" but looked at in a different way, he's right, he's one of 24 drivers out there. All F1 drivers are some of the best in the world.

I was never a Schumacher fan, but I am a Ferrari fan and for that alone, I thank him for his contributions to the teams records. I thank Todt and Brawn equally.

What I find unforgivable though, is that he needed the support of his team-mates to win as often as he did, he just refused an equal beside him. Isn't it interesting that Trulli was offered a Ferrari seat around the time Massa joined the team. He wouldn't have pushed Schumi too much.

If Michael wins a race this year, then I hope he wins because of his skill and not because of some major bad luck to the competition. Personally, I hope he doesn't win.

I don't know how to take any of the stuff "hero_was_senna" says. At one point he sounds like he is defending Schumacher (comments re ferrari always having a #1 driver, examples of other cases of team orders), and at another, he sounds like he is diminishing him as a coward who never wanted an equal in the same team (original post). Pick a side. My comment regarding Alonso not being any better, was really stating this is a a Ferrari policy. However, it could very well be that Alonso, like many before him made it a Ferrari policy, by arranging a conract that prevents competition from having the same car. Even though it probably isn't official, I think majority of us here can agree that it is extremely unlikely Alonso will ever want to work with Hamilton again, regardless of what he may say in public.

I also stand by my original statement that Alonso is no better than Schumacher in that regard, or Vettel, or Hamilton, or Prost or Senna or anybody else for that matter, except perhaps Raikonnen...who genuinly appears to really don't give a damn who his team-mate is.

I never heard Schumacher refused an equal team mate. Do you have a source for suzch a claim? I heard that Prost refused Senna, and Senna refused Warwick, but I didn't hear such things about Schumacher.

Schumacher may have claimed he left because of Massa being without a seat, but frankly, top sports people have a selfish streak to them to become winners.

If Schumacher wanted to continue, do you honestly think he would have considered Massa in his plans. Get real!

@F1.

I already answered that, It was in an interview with Briatore before the 1994 season began. He said that the contract with Schumacher was simple, the only thing he had in there was he could leave if the team were to sign Senna.

I guess you don't rate Button's 2009 championship either then, seeing as thought he had a "number 2" driver in Barichello as a teammate & there were races like at Germany where Barichello had to make an extra pitstop whilst Button took the win & Barichello was left to ask Brawn how & why?

As for data sharing, thats up to the team, not the driver, as seen at Red Bull over the last couple of years, where both drivers have access to each others data. Sometimes you will see one of the drivers purposfully not showing their true hand until qualifying because of this very fact, they do not want their teammate to see just how fast their setyup is cvapable of going until it is too late for the teammate to copy their settings after qualifying when parc ferne conditions exist.

To single one driver out for this mentality is spiteful in the extreme, considering that they ALL are competing against each other & ALL will fight for every last advantage.

Also Rosberg has openly stated recently that MS has always answered ANY questions he has about the car or setup etc COMPLETLEY OPENLY & HONESTLY, so go figure....

The first I heard about it was an article in Motorsport News IIRC, Briatore was saying that the only condition Schumacher asked for was that he could leave if Senna was ever signed. Briatore had said "with Schumacher, why would I need Senna"

Subsequently, when Herbert started running Schumacher close, the Benetton team stopped Herbert seeing any of Schumi's data. Brundle said the same thing of their time together in 1992, once he got closer, Schumacher didn't want to speak to him.

Now we get to Ferrari, and we have Irvine, Barrichello and Massa as his team-mates.

Lets be honest, there were a few times that Irvine and Barrichello were ordered over for MS, and it wasn't a secret that he was number 1 in the team.

When they competed in Australia then Malaysia, it was Barrichello who had to fly back to Europe to test some tyres then fly back, with all the jet lag involved, so Schumacher was fresh for the race.

No matter how good these team-mates were, they were not Top 5 material. Why was Hakkinen never courted to Ferrari, or Villeneuve or Montoya. If there was potentially a faster team-mate he was refused.

Schumi was informed in 2006 that Kimi had been signed for 2007. Schumacher had been given the opportunity to stay with the team, but he ran and hid. That, for me, is why I hope he doesn't win anything for Mercedes

You're right, Prost refused Senna at William.

Senna refused Warwick at Lotus but for very different reasons. After all he had no fear to join Mclaren with Prost there, did he?

In case you don't know, Senna knew that Lotus didn't have the budget or infrastructure to support 2 front line drivers, the team management admitted afterwards he was completely right. Warwick himself in interviews will admit the same thing. Senna didn't refuse him for fear of competition.

It is Ferrari's system to have a clear #1 policy. You cannot blame Alonso, Räikkönen, Schumacher, Irvine, Scheckter or whichever Ferrari driver for that. It is the Ferrari president's politics to race the team the way they do, it is not the driver's decision. It was the decision of the people in the pits to change the running order in some races like Hockenheim 1999, Malaysia 1999, Austria 2002, Indy 2002, Brazil 2007 or Germany 2010, just to name the most obvious. And to be fair the same thing happened at McLaren too with Häkkinen and Coulthard, remember Melbourne 1998? At Jerez 1997 for example the team strategists even went as far as implying intra-team orders between Williams and McLaren, hence Villeneuve had to give up his win in the last lap after being ordered to finish behind the McLarens. And in the same race, Coulthard was ordered to move over for Häkkinen as well, so that the third placed driver could finally win his first race. Strange how people can completely forget this.

To be fair though there has never been any point to date that Alonso has benfited from a Team order that resulted in anything as such yet?? and i think Alonso's talent like for like at any time in various team's/circumstances clearly outshines Shumacher.

To be fair regarless of how many more titles or not Alonso wins if you ask credable people in 5 yrs time the best driver Post Senna im pretty sure the majority will vow for Alonso.

If that is the Angle F1 is coming from then its over comercialised and very Wrong. Branding is for who the teams are, what's on the cars and what's around the cars ie advertising boarding etc etc but NOT in the car that is about who are the best available and up and coming drivers at the time. not because they are recognised and regarded through history etc.

Schumacher was in America a few years back on holiday with his family and Jos Verstappen. They went to a Nascar school and stood in line before going out for runs.

Whilst I felt it was great that he was humble enough not to pull rank or try to say who he was whilst being instructed, it shows just how well America knows him.

There's only three reason why he's known in America, it's for Indy 2002, the staged finish which Barrichello won, and the Michelin fiasco in 2005 where the Michelin shod teams all withdrew at the start of the race.

Also don't forget, that in America, Ferrari is a recognised luxury sporting brand and known from when they competed at Le Mans and Daytona etc, not because of their exploits in F1.

Schumacher is known in the US because he not only won 5 of the 7 US Grand O

Prix he competed in, but because he was such a successful driver in the history of F1, which does still have an interest in America, despite not being the main motorsport. It's ludicrous to twist things round and claim he's only famous for negative reasons.

I think BE is a bit confused. Yes, Schumacher is a big name in the USA, but his first name is Tony (NHRA), not MIchael. They say a racer has to have self belief; seems MS has it in spades. Still, wouldn't it be great to see a Schumacher/Alonso/Raikkonen podium?

Some people (especially British) love downtalking Schumacher (for mainly nationalistic reasons, Britain vs. Germany thing, Hill thing, yawn) but any objective F1 fan knows he is one of the best of all time, if not the best.

Currently, at age 43 he is not at his best clearly but still will give anyone a run for their money if the car suits him, which it hasn't for the last 2 years.

I'm Italian, so that argumnet doesn't work with me. I'm also a huge Ferrari fan and I respected his ability, but not his working practices.

I don't disagree with you that he's one of the greats, but your last point about if the car suits him, all I have to say, at his peak, he drove the 1996 Ferrari to 3 wins, a car that Irvine never got to grips with. He hasn't out-performed Rosberg at all, which is a good indicator that maybe he's not of the same skill as he once was.

Maybe he is not of the same skill, but perhaps he needs to overcome the fact of having missed three years of F1 racing? Maybe he can be better this year and simply needed the last 2 years to adapt again? We will see.

I second that. I still remember the rousing response he got from the crowd at 'TopGear' when he took the helmet off and revealed himself as "The Stig". I have never heard the crowd go so crazy any rockstar,hollywood actor/actress,sports personality on the show.

Since returning to the sport Schumacher seems to be a more open and modest person than previously and he seems to know his own limitations. It is interesting to see the gradual slide in Ferrari's fortunes since he and his mates left. It is also true that maybe Nico doesn't have that last little bit as he should probably have left Micheal for dead by now.If Hamilton does want to move,it probably is the only place to realisticaly be considered.

He will never go there as long as Vettel is there because he would lose out even worse compared to what happened at McLaren. Vettel is a better driver than Button who has got the better of Hamilton anyway. I would be very much surprised to see either Alonso, Vettel or Hamilton teaming up ever again. 2007 is still very much remembered when Mac's drivers stupidly lost the title to Kimi while on the other hand Massa was moving over for Kimi.

Good point, but that is what breaking your neck on a motorcycle will do to you. He knows he's mortal now, with a wife and kids and castle in Germany, and that niggling uncertainty MUST play a part in toning down the derring-do / bravado we saw from him in the past 90's and 2000's.

I think it's likely a Mercedes driver will win the championship within the next 3 years. Wheather it is Rosberg, Hamilton or whoever else they might recruit, they will have Michael to thank for a sizeable part of it.

The knowledge of the sport and the ability to develop a concept he will have brought to the team cannot be overestimated.

If you read the intial comment properly you will see that I said a championship winning driver with Mercedes would have Schumi to thank for a 'sizeable' part of it. Never did I imply that Mercedes were an operation that relied solely on Michael, or that the designers shouldn't get any credit.

You might also notice that I mentioned his ability to develop a concept. Nowhere did I say that they we his concepts to begin with.

And alonso hasn't always had a teammate whom was told to behave?? hahaha we saw what happened when he didn't, he simply spit the dummy & left (McLaren)... hahaha love your logic hero_was_senna, very one dimensional.

I'm not a fan of any particular team in F1, but it's a pleasure to watch Mercedes put the right ingredients together and for things to start to fire. From an organisational management point of view, it's a fascinating case study. Would love to know more about how Ross Brawn does what he does.

I agree with Michael, and we will see his true performance when he gets a good car. Remember Button was beaten over a season by Barrichello when they had a poor Honda, but as soon as they had a good car, the better man emerged.

whether he can reach his old level over a single lap still remains to be seen but in terms of the focus, the analysis and motivating the team around him this man is second to none. You only have to read his quotes to see that his understanding of the sport is on another level from the others. That is part of the genius of M. Schumacher. He clearly still has the focus, patience and work ethic. Ross Brawn and himself are underestimated at the peril of others!

As a big Lewis fan, since his arrival in F1, massively disappointment in his attitude. I have been a fan bacause he appeared to have coupled his amazing speed with determination, hard work and a level head.

These drivers are under massive pressure, and it is hard for us to relate to it. But it does seem astonishing that someone paid £12m +, with all the gifts and opportunities to become one of THE great is simply wasting it. 27 years old doesn't seem that young to me, especially when you see how mature vettel is.

My other concern is that Lewis simply may be lacking in the intelligence stakes, which is so vital in the current F1.

Wouldn’t get to caught up in the way his comments are slanted by media including yours truly.

I remember few weeks back during testing when he commented on how mclaren’s programme had included aggressive fuel loads. Next thing you know media outlets reporting disappointment with the car/Benson &Anderson concluding that aggressive fuel loads equated to low fuel and running with this theme-it turned out that by aggressive he meant high load and there were very good arguments showing that was what he meant right from the start but Journalists don’t care about checking or confirming facts anymore.

Hamilton’s media problems include a combination of not knowing how to play the press and his urban speech style that allows them to wilfully misquote him. i am hoping that the cotton guy starts restricting media access because it is such a running theme as to be ridiculous.

Leading up to this interview was k rosberg, couthald and co comments about his private/social life so obviously they are going to run with this angle but 2010 was the year he was frequently in the states between GrandPrix not 2011.

In one beginning of year interview he tried to explain how he had got his training wrong last year-OVERdoing the physical in the preseason which also had a negative impact. We didn’t get press reports/images of him constantly out and about last season so whatever social excursions he mentions were already in moderation-POST race china nightclub notwithstanding, he looks to be saying that they will be set at or near zero this season. i would bet that comments now being quoted in isolation were again taken out of context.

When he got rid of his Managerfather for reasons i now appreciate, having watched the Nic Hamilton documentary, he was always going have to transition.

Schumi was my hero during his Ferrari days. He has clearly shown that he is no quitter. I really admire that. If Ferrari hadn't pushed him out so soon, he would have definetely won two more championships. I think he is the most popular F1 driver on the planet.

As for Lewis going to Mercedes, he is not the only worthy driver out there. Paul di Resta, Nico Hulkenberg and even Webber are great drivers to replace if the great man calls it quits. I have a feeling that we have not seen the best of Bruno either. Probably he too can do a great job in a better car.

Hamilton had problems with Alonso in the past but they have made up now. Ferrari would be a better destination for Hamilton.

The interviewer asked him some questions which led Alonso to talk about McLaren and he did indeed say his issues were with Ron & the team and not really with Lewis. He then went on, I believe, to talk about a mutual respect the two guys had for each other.

The interviewer then asked if Alonso would ever want to team up with Hamilton again. He gave a one-word answer: "no".

Hamilton partnering Alonso at Ferrari would not be a good move. Fernando would never relinquish his guaranteed no. 1 position in the team. Why would a world champion want to go to a team where he'd get inferior support to his teammate.

Unless McLaren begin to fail dismally (Williams-style), Lewis would be a fool to move away from that team.

To be fair though Lewis pretty much dismantled that what probably was No1 status by himself, got to remember he was a very long term project/product for the team from a very young age indeed. Why is it whenever I think of lewis Hamilton and Mclaren that i think of Trading Places!

Oh p...lease! Ferrari can only run one car & no way is LH going to be No.2..I think he'll probably go to Mercedes if JB beats him again..I think the Merc. vrs McLaren performance will be a secondary consideration in this situation.

As ever it is all about the car that mercedes produce. The reason schumacher still has a great chance is because he has struggled to maximise the tyres in qualifying. His race pace is there which is why he will have a great shout if mercedes have built a good car.

I was at the British GP in 1982 when Lauda won, and he was considered a legend at that point but although I applauded, I wanted to see the new generation.

Lauda winning in 1984 because of his cunning driving rather than outright speed just sent out the wrong message.

1985 he was a shadow of his former self.

In his prime, this man was one of the greats but coming back for money for his airline made what I consider my passion, almost trivial.

Theres a film coming out soon called Rush. The story of the 1976 season. It's not about Lauda's career.

I was fortunate enough to witness Schuamcher in his prime, winning Belgium 1995, Belgium 1996 or Hungary 1998, every performance sublime, and then lived through the most boring period of domination. And I say that as a massive Ferrari fan!

But Schumacher now is, Ali being punched once too often, it's Mcenroe refusing to quit once the body is beyond competition.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is about the Legends, not F1.

F1 is about young lions/ gladiators pushing the very limits of ability. It's great that Schumi still gets a kick out of it, that Mercedes feels that having a 43 year old cements their customer profile rather than trying to lower their customer average age level.

Michael still has something special to offer. His pace at Silverstone, where he set numerous fastest laps and finished just 15s behind Nico despite doing a whole lap with a broken wing, an extra pit stop AND a 10s stop/go penalty suggest we could see him improve his performance with the EBD ban.

Interestingly, at most of the slower tracks last year, Nico seemed a fair bit faster in race trim (Abu Dhabi for example) but the more faster tracks (particularly Spa, Monza, Suzuka, malaysia) gave Michael an advantage...It's going to be fascinating to see how their rivalry unfolds this year.

exactly that is also my opinion as you will find in prev posts inc the what was Renault team too, Unless the likes of maybe force india take strides forward i feel a certain mr Hamiltons future lies in the Indy series.

I once saw a documentary where they were discussing Schumachers driving style, and how through a corner he is constantly controlling the car via constantly adjusting the throttle as opposed to nearly all other drivers that are more or less off and on the throttle going through corners.

I'm very curious as to how the cars throttle being open during corner entry for the blown diffusor exhaust systems would have affected his driving style, if at all. Also will it be different this season with the blown diffusors banned.

I'd love to hear your opinion on this, heres a youtube clip i found from that documentary:

For his sake's yes but i'm glad he came back as so everyone could understand results/titles did not exactly give the real reflection on his actual talent level i'e not quite as good as many thought!! right places at the right time with the right people/teams at the time!!!

Yes that can. They lost half or more of there staff, and had budget comparible or smaller than a midfield team.

Don't forget the the 2010 Mercedes was designed by the Brawn team, with their extremely limited resources, as Mercedes didn't take over until the after the end of the season.

The only influence Mercedes had was on the 2011 car, which was a step in the right direction, but it's only now that they've brought staff numbers back up to scratch and got a healthy budget can their project really start.

No doubting this guy is a living legend and we should be grateful he is still so committed to F1, it's never boring when Michael is involved. My suspicion is that the Merc is seriously fast. Most of the testing done was on heavy fuel loads and race sims, they know the car is fast and probably knew this from the go. Red Bull are still the benchmark but don't be surprised to see Schumacher on the podium come Sunday.

Well Shuey, you are the best ever... When in self doubt or anyone who doubts this must see your statistics... No one ever has ever achieved what you have and I doubt at least in our lifetime anyone ever would.

You are by far the most popular figure in F1. Even the people who don't know F1 or don't follow it with passion know Michael Schumacher. I often discovered when I told people that I was going on a holiday to watch a race they immediately said "oh Michael Schumacher" that is the level of popularity you have.

Yes people are passionate of Senna, but every fan of Senna knows what you have accomplished is remarkably outstanding.

You have single handedly changed F1, and it is you who made this sport truly global.

A lot may not agree what I have written here, but even those who disagree knows that what I have aforesaid is a fact.

"When in self doubt or anyone who doubts this must see your statistics… "

Statistics can point to whatever point the bearer is trying to make. Sure, Schumacher was a great F1 driver but if any of the past "greats" had the advantages he had, they would have similar records. Undisputed #1 status in the biggest spending team in the history of the sport. Basically unlimited money, unlimited track time, unlimited resources. Also, with the exception of the Mika Hakkinen years and Fernado Alonso years, he never really had a dominant rival. Something you continually hear this year is that there are 6 WC's on the grid. From 1998 - 2006, how many drivers, besides Schumacher, Hakkinen and Alonso, would you consider dominate? In the five years (1998 - 2000 & 2005 - 06, how many titles did Schumacher win when he had a dominate rival? I believe the answer to be one.

"Undisputed #1 status in the biggest spending team in the history of the sport. Basically unlimited money, unlimited track time, unlimited resources. "

Numerous other teams spent almost as much as Ferrari. Mclaren, BMW-Williams, Honda and Toyota had the ability to test as much as they want, but Schumacher was an incredibly hard worker, and was the best at utilizing the resources available.

"Also, with the exception of the Mika Hakkinen years and Fernado Alonso years, he never really had a dominant rival."

That's because Schumacher kept beating what was thrown at him, which is all you can ask for. It also makes no sense to single out five years and say Schumacher won only one title in that time. He won seven throughout his career, and that is all that matters.

The only team that came close the Ferrari spend was Toyota and they were a car company playing at being a race team. McLaren's and Williams spend was about half what Ferrari's was spending. Read F1 Racing from back then and you can see a breakdown of the figures from tax records. I do not disagree with you assessment of his work ethic but when you can afford to work that hard, is certainly makes a difference come the weekend.

Maybe you are right about him beating the competition but he was a dominate driver. Alonso is a dominate driver. Vettel is working towards being a dominate driver. I cannot think of another driver from that late 90's - mid 2000's era that I would regard in the same light. So, my point is that, when faced with another dominate driver, his record falls away.

I think if he wins a race he will quit at the end of the season. He must know that his best days are behind him and if he wins he least he can say he returned and won a race in a very tight championship.

The difference between Rosberg and Schuey is that Michael never drove for Williams.

If Rosberg either had more self confidence in himself or had better management, he wouldn't have had such a long and dry stint in a Williams. Perhaps he shouldn't have listened to his father (Keke) so much.

Webber's career was nearly ruined by Williams. Post Williams, Mark's only viable option was to head back to his old team, the team formerly known as Jaguar, now known as Red Bull Racing. Lucky for him!

Jenson started with Williams but had to make way for Montoya. He eventually ended up at BAR. After almost re-signing with Williams, he was "forced" to stick with BAR who became Honda and then Brawn - whom gave him his WDC and his ticket to McLaren. Again, lucky he didn't end up at Williams!

Rosberg is undoubtedly a fast driver. His lack of wins is mainly attributed to his long stay in Williams. However, he is "relatively" young and he is finally with a team with some potential. His fate is yet to be decided.

A drive like this does not lose his touch so easily!!! Schumacher is one of the best of all time!!!! Period. He has the potential, if given the car, to win a grand prix still! And if you have the potential to win a grand prix often you can win a championship!!! Go schumi!! A lot of people still believe in you despite your move from Ferrari!!

I think time away from F1, changes to the cars and tyres in that time and restricted testing have impacted Schumacher's ability. Plus he is now older so must have slightly slower reactions and is probably less focused than before (but still obviously very focused) as he has had an appreciation of life outside of F1.

I think Schumacher's biggest talents are his intelligence and his ability to build (and lead) a team.

With regards to Hamilton going to Mercedes, I wonder what would happen if Schumacher became his mentor? Remember how Massa was the crash kid before he moved to Ferrari and Schumacher took him under his wing?

His past contribution to the sport is impressive and cannot be denied and I for one do not begrudge him a seat on the grid. However his days of winning the WDC are over, despite his considerable talents and experience he can no longer realistically measure himself against the likes of Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso and Button.

Despite this I do wish him all the best this season (his final?) and would certainly love him to score a podium or two along the way.

Schumacher - Raced for the majority of his career in the sports dominant car, and did very well, all credit to him.

Button - Has raced for perhaps half a season in the sports dominant car and guess what he did very well too.

Here in lies the rub, when Schumacher is not in the sports dominant car, what does he achieve?

If Schumacher& Button had been team mates in 2005, perhaps your opinion would be different but we have never seen them in comparable F1 cars so I guess we will never know (ROC is not F1 i'm afraid). However I suspect that if Jenson was to swap with Nico today, you would see him head and shoulders above Michael (see what I did there!!) Simply put Jenson is at his peak and Michael is past his.

P.S I spent my hard earned money this year on tickets to real F1 events (Silverstone & Spa) instead of stadium side shows!

Spend some dosh and go to the ROC. Button has never beaten Schuey. You seem to forget that Button has been around since 2000. Schuey has crushed Button so many times that it says Welcome on his forehead. Frankly, button has never been anything in any other car but the Mclaren and triple decked diffused Brawn...Dude, get your facts straight. I watched Schuey go past Button in Imola 2005 through a chicane like he was driving a Yugo. Good things the folks in Woking are sniffing glue cause Button would be out of the sport were he not driving one of their cars. This is the man has driven for Williams, Mclaren, Renault, Honda, and Brawn. You add up his victories outside of Brawn and Mclaren and that total is 1!!!!!!

I enjoyed that immensely as well. I was speechless when the FIA made Ross Brawn tell MS to move over so Lewis could go through.. MS was tough but fair. It took Button about half a lap to pass MS and Hamilton needed help from the steward to do the same.

I'm not implying the Button was/is better than Hamilton. Hamilton tyres were probably near the "cliff" but thats racing so he should have had to deal with it by himself.

What I'm implying is that we saw a great battle between Button/Hamilton/Schumacher and that its a shame that the race steward got involded. I'm also implying that both Button AND Hamilton are great drivers and the reason Hamilton was unable to overtake Schumacher was because his tires were worn out.

How exactly have Red Bull forgotten how to be human? I would say the way they conduct themselves (e.g. loud music in the garage, the Monaco pool celebrations, Seb's title celebrations at Suzuka) shows that they are comfortable with who they are and are happy to show their fun-loving side.

They may be good at the corporate side aswell, but the access they give to fans puts some of the other teams to shame.

There's no doubt that Schumacher has been one of the all time greats, and he still has the potential to be near the front given a good car, but I doubt he will win a GP because the competition is simply too fierce, and the bar very high. One thing I don't like about him is that some of his tactics are unfair and unsporting such as the blocking manoeurve he pulled on Hamilton was against the rules and the stunt he pulled on Barrichello was downright dangerous. All drivers will need to be careful about blocking, and the one move rule when defending a position.

On the contrary I think Senna was again one of the all time greats, possible even the greatest, but such comparisons are pointless because circumstances are too varied. The thing is that the sport was far more dangerous then and that sort of thing was to a degree acceptable. Today however the FIA has tightened up the rules to make the sport safer, and to be fair that's how it should be. That did not stop Button putting Hamilton in the wall though, and I appreciate it can be difficult with two egos competing, but I think he knew perfectly well that Hamilton was there.

Haug and Mercedes CEO, Zetsche, have repeatedly said that if Schumi wanted to extend his contract, all he had to do is SIGN on the dotted line any time he liked

you have to assume that Schumi has NOT done so simply because he wants to see how well he performs compared to Rosberg; if the highly rated youngster makes Schumi look downright POOR, pride may get the better of "grand-dad"

as long as Schumi can compete with Rosberg, he will probably remain in F1 for YEARS to come

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I wonder though whether James is a tad too kind to Hamilton and his chances of snatching the Mercedes cockpit, should Schumi decide to punch out at the end of the season

Mercedes may be based in England, but they are a German team, and decisions are taken in Stuttgart; and the way Hamilton is perceived in England is rather different to his image in Germany; these days , Lewis mostly draws attention to himself with his endless clashes with Massa, his reckless driving (throwing away points left, right and center for no reason) as well as his off-the-track distractions; he was beaten fair and square by his team-mate now as well, making it a bit difficult to say "all McLaren need to do is give me the right car and I will win the title"; in England, these on and off antics are often seen as "adding excitement", in other countries, people just get bored with him; on German TV, Lauda was still RAVING about Hamilton two years ago, even when Vettel ended winning the title, it was ALL about the genius of Hamilton; last season it was ALL about Vettel and Lauda just dropped the Lewis-love-fest completely

A LOT will now depend on whether Lewis can beat Button. Chances are, the new tyres favour Button, and let's face it, getting back together with his Pussy Cat and moving to Monaco now, since Geneva was "too boring" will not help Hamilton focus on beating Button

IF Button edges it yet AGAIN though, in the same car, WHY on earth would Mercedes want to sign Hamilton ??????

let's face it, he would NOT see himself as a driver supporting Rosberg

c) Schumi leaves, and Mercedes buy VETTEL out of his contract (assuming that the Silver Arrows look like the cars to beat NEXT season): note: the Red Bull owner Mateschitz has already said that they would NOT insist on Vettel staying with them, if they could no longer provide the lad with a winning car; they know they OWE him. And Vettel has repeatedly raved about the MYTH of the SILVER ARROWS

Are you trying to suggest that teams have just been waiting for Hamilton to be beaten by a teammate so that they cannot hire him? I believe Mercedes would also consider how many team mates Lewis had beaten before JB to make a call on whether overall he is as lousy a driver as you imply. Stuttgart let JB go as a WDC so there something they know about JB that we don't. He may not be the unit against which performance is measured at Mercedes. If Stuttgart holds Alonso in high regard, 2007 may play very big role in their hiring decision. Let's not forget - teams do not hire based on the same emotional profiles of the fans.

Only just noticed this comment Mike pmsl but i get what you mean exactly! and that's the primary reason he is doomed for the other top 3 or 4 teams too, but for his questionable off track antics and with another title under his belt who knows. But even if he did win another title now i reckon he would still be overlooked by the other desirable teams.

Red Bull owner Mateschitz has already said that they would NOT insist on Vettel staying with them

Why would he? Much like Williams in the 90's and Ferrari before the old man died, it's the car that's important, not the driver. So Vettel leaves, do you honestly believe Red Bull wouldn't be able to get two drivers to carry on winning??

I believe Mateschitz knows that Vettel will leave the team sooner or later to take Alonso's seat in 2017 or perhaps to take over from Michael in 2015 already. Who knows how many titles he will have won by then and being still young his retainer might be astronomically high so that only Ferrari and Mercedes can afford having him on their payroll. That's why RBR are eager to find a replacement for him (Ricciardo or Vergne) since Buemi/Alguersuari were not deemed fast enough. And Webber isn't young anymore so he is not the future of RBR.

I read a interview with two times F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi and he had stated that to win a F1 race is very complex because of the variations involved. Man, Schumacher won 7 World Championships. The Schumacher is alive legend. Who does not agree with that?

On a side note, Hamilton really needs to learn how to keep certain things to himself! Why tell you employer,who by the way is paying you a whooping 18m $/yr that you were "enjoying and knocked yourself out" so couldn't concentrate on your work ? Sheesh!

Never a great fan of Schumacher at Ferrari - largely because all of the unsporting tricks they used to get up to - I would still like to see Michael score a few victories for Mercedes before hanging up his helmet for good.

As for the Mercedes lineup in 2013, I can't see Lewis moving from Woking but I wonder how long Kimi is locked into the Enstone squad - do you know, James ?

As much as i like Kimi, Brawn/Mercedes and their teutonic way of working wont touch Kimi with a 20ft barge pole! For all Kimi's speed, his ability to communicate and lead a team is as good as my refrigerator being an ideal saturday night date. Kimster will be around Lotus for a couple of years, then probably knock on Williams door and then call it a day for good. If Lotus is as good as it is in tests, i expect him to get a few podiums this season, nothing more.

I like Kimi and yes, his ability to communicate could do with some improvement.

A speech tharapist would do Kimi wonders. Serious. I don't think he has much control over his diaphram and vocal chords, making his speech inconsistent and difficult to understand - often resulting phrases end in low pitch croaks. This occurs when he speak Finnish or English. He gets away with it in the pressies, but the Top Gear performance, it was quite pronounced.

Knock on Williams door?? strange view! i very much doubt there would be anything close to being a need or view for him to do that other than for that previously spoke of big take over! Likely future of Kimi (if in F1) i would say is cemented to Lotus or yes poss Mercedes maybe Force India and even Redbull depending on his performances from here on.

Michael Schumacher is an asset to the sport and I would love to see him be competative in the car this year mixing it with the front runners.

Just like many other sports the old champions we loved to watch race have now moved on and I think these younger drivers need mentors that are still around showing them you can still achieve positive results if you set your mind to it.

Some may argue that Shuey had a couple of Titles handed to him but at the end of the day he has showed that he never gives up and flys the flag for us older guys who remember the days of Senna,Prost,Mansell(il Leone),Berger,Alesi,Hill & Hakkinen who made each race exciting to watch.Shumacher was their during this time and gave us some amazing races.

These young guys are exceptional drivers who in time will be respected in the history books of F1 and will hopefully see that Schumacher was a fierce competitor even in his 40's.

Let's hope the Mercedes can deliver what Schuey needs to get on the podium.

True Formula one is all about the marketing and contraversy and that's why Schuey is good for the sport because he's experienced and doesn't let it get to him and still pulls a big draw card in fans watching and attending the sport.